Partizan vs. Tottenham: Winners and Losers from Europa League Game
Partizan Belgrade and Tottenham Hotspur fought out a testy 0-0 draw in their first match of Europa League Group C.
A Harry Kane shot that cannoned off the crossbar in the first minute was as close as Tottenham came to scoring all evening.
As the game progressed, the home side looked the more likely to make something of their possession. They were certainly not overly troubled by Spurs.
Although not a result to get too excited about, it could prove a decent point for both sides.
Over the following few pages we look at who and what will be taking positives from Matchday 1, and who will be feeling a little less pleased.
Winners: Fazio and Stambouli Largely Settled Well on Their First Spurs Starts
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Mauricio Pochettino handed Federico Fazio and Benjamin Stambouli their first Tottenham starts against Partizan Belgrade. The players and their manager should be satisfied with their performances.
Fazio was an assured presence alongside Jan Vertonghen in central defence. Untroubled in the opening 15 minutes, he was ready when needed to block a Danko Lazovic shot after Petar Grbic had easily skipped past Ben Davies and teed him up.
The Argentinian was on hand to stop Miroslav Vulicevic moments later, and marshalled Lazovic out of harms way when he threatened when the ball returned.
A long-throw deceived Fazio just under 10 minutes later. Perhaps in a sign of a burgeoning understanding between the two, Vertonghen was on hand to deny the pesky Lazovic when he got behind his defensive partner.
Overall, though, it was an encouraging start to life at Spurs for Fazio.
Stambouli carried on where he left off in his substitute appearance against Sunderland, getting in and amongst his midfield counterparts where he could.
The often rushed nature of goings-on around the centre circle meant the Frenchman was denied the chances to breathe with the ball his fellow debutant was further behind.
Save for a couple of misplaced passes he used the ball soundly (and impressively recovered it on one occasion he did lose it). When appropriate, he looked to get forward in attack.
With plenty of options in central defence and midfield, we now wait to see what Pochettino has in mind for Fazio and Stambouli next.
Loser: Davies Struggled in His Latest Starting Opportunity
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This was not Ben Davies' first appearance in a Tottenham shirt. It was, though, probably the worst of his short time at the club so far.
A degree of sympathy can be afforded to the Welshman. With Danny Rose starting at left-back in league games, Davies is having to adjust to life at a new club without the benefit of regular competitive action in which to properly find his feet.
Even so, if he wants to get ahead of Rose with any real frequency he will know he has to perform better than he did in Serbia.
The previously mentioned incident with Grbic would not be the last time the midfielder bypassed Davies. He got in behind the unfocused left-back on the half-hour mark, and six minutes later the Montenegrin was allowed far too much space to cross after a failed clearance.
Davies' passing was inconsistent—tallied by Squawka at 68 per cent—and he appeared at times to be caught in two minds as whether to get forward or hold his position.
There was better from the 21-year-old late on when he blocked a couple of attempted balls in from Belgrade. Davies will have to chalk this one up as a learning experience, and get back to the basics that will serve him well in the long-run.
Winner: Lamela Is Becoming an Increasingly Influential Figure for Spurs
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It was not a 30 minutes that will go down as among the most memorable of his career. However, for Erik Lamela, the decision to bring him on against Partizan and his subsequent performance was testament to the increasing influence he is wielding on the pitch for Tottenham.
Spurs had threatened prior to his arrival; Paulinho was initially lively, getting into some good spaces. Andros Townsend was foraging for openings down the left, moving inwards with not much joy there either but an admirable endeavour nonetheless.
Despite their efforts, neither they nor Harry Kane or Aaron Lennon or any one of the players supporting from deeper were able to create much.
Lamela coming on instead of Christian Eriksen was probably a partial acknowledgement from Pochettino he was more concerned with keeping the latter fresh for the Premier League this weekend. Still, that he trusted in Lamela to try and make a difference was testament to his growing belief in him.
This is not to be understated given the Argentine attacker's difficulties last season. Such faith in his abilities should only raise his confidence moving forward.
As it was, Lamela was unable to make a telling difference. Spurs looked closest to getting a goal when he was involved, however.
He sent his fellow substitute Roberto Soldado down the left with a ball that allowed the Spaniard to turn and deliver a cross which almost found Kane at the back post. Later on a ball forward to Kane put the striker in a promising position again, before Lamela's dribbles and turns away from the opposition livened up a contest that descended into dourness late on.
Losers: Lennon and Paulinho Have Work to Do to Convince Pochettino
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There is an acknowledgement with the likes of Davies, Kane and Townsend that, while they may not be starting regularly, their status in the development phase of their careers still affords them a little leeway when performances underwhelm.
That will not be the case forever. At 23, Townsend certainly is on the cusp of moving out of that phase.
For Lennon and Paulinho, there is even less room for manoeuvre here.
At 27 and 26 respectively, neither are anywhere near over the hill. But at points in their careers in which they will want to spend more time playing than not, their lack of involvement this season will be worrying.
Not much that either did here will convince Pochettino they deserve more right now than to be on back-up duty for the likes of Eriksen and Lamela.
As noted, Paulinho began brightly in Belgrade. He linked up nicely with Kane and Townsend, and displayed the judgement for picking threatening forward positions that suggest a more frequent attacking midfield role than he played last season will suit him best at Spurs.
He grew quiet as the minutes ticked by, though, and it was no surprise he was withdrawn on the hour.
Lennon was typically eager and threatened with his pace. But it was never much more than that, and compared to the productive work shown by Nacer Chadli, especially in recent games, it is hard to justify him playing as his boss' man coming in from the left right now.
Both Lennon and Paulinho have time to get things right, but it is up to them to try and do so.
Winner: Partizan's Qualification Prospects
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Partizan Belgrade might ultimately rue not putting Tottenham under more pressure than they did in a close game. For now, they can look on at it as a decent point off of probably the strongest side in Group C.
Manager Marko Nikolic will fancy his side's chances of taking points off both Asteras Tripolis and Besiktas at the loud, imposing JNA Stadium.
In the experienced Lazovic they have a talented nuisance of an attacker who attempted to aggravate Spurs and will almost certainly rile up other teams to come.
Between Grbic, Danilo Pantic and Vulicevic they had plenty of players comfortable in possession across the pitch. Others, such as their suspended in-form striker Petar Skuletic, are still to return too.
Besiktas and Tripolis' draw on Thursday suggests neither are too far ahead of Partizan as things stand. With Spurs capable of dropping further points before the group stage is done, Group C is far from a done deal for anyone.
With a strong opening to the league season too, Partizan will hope to build on this encouraging start and progress to the later knockout stages of a European competition for the first time in a decade.
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